A lack of standardisation and business process is a clear barrier to building a valuable contract cleaning company, according to Paul Ridden, CEO of SmartTask. Speaking at the Manchester Cleaning Show, he highlighted the importance of taking a systematic approach using the latest workforce management software to gain operational control and implement consistent procedures, so growth can be handled in a sustainable manner.

“For any successful business there will always be some growing pains along the way as business owners and managers face the challenge of scaling up without losing visibility and control over resources,” said Ridden. “As an operation expands there is a constant balancing act of achieving a quality service while maintaining profitability, but how is this possible if it becomes impossible to monitor and performance manage your team?”

Many manual or paper-based procedures that have worked well to start with may no longer be appropriate as a company reaches a certain size, so will need adapting. Therefore, it is important to continually explore where certain processes can be streamlined and automated to achieve the necessary transparency and management control.

Ridden continued: “The aim should be to simplify internal systems, thereby reducing the administrative burden while ensuring quality service is consistently delivered across the business. It is always easier to keep a contract than win new ones, so using workforce management software sensibly to better manage and maintain customers will ultimately result in lower attrition rates and greater margins.”

Finally Ridden discussed how the technology can help extend a contract cleaning company’s proposition to differentiate within the marketplace. It offers a way of adding value to a customer enhancing what can be provided or simply delivering higher levels of transparency for complete peace of mind. “The adoption of a workforce management tool can support the introduction of enhanced or premium services, above and beyond what was previously possible,” he said. “As an example, our new staff onboarding and screening module that we have just launched at the show will provide a means of safely offering a range of personnel dependent on the nature of a location and required security clearance. This is available alongside our existing employee scheduling and workforce management software to achieve the highest levels of visibility and control.”